Absorbable support



July 20, 1965 E. L. sQUlREs 3,195,847

ABSORBABLE SUPPORT med April e. 1961 INVENTOR r2/2,4557# SGU/@ES BYM ,w

ATT RNEY United States Patent O 3,195,847 ABSORBABLE SUPPRT Elizabeth L. Squires, 116 E. 73rd St., New York, NX. Filed Apr. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 101,223 1 Claim. (Cl. 24S-346.1)

This invention relates to an absorbable support, and more particularly concerns an improved protective pad having provision for the insertion of a removable ab- -sorbent filler.

Up to now it has been diflicult to provide a multiple purpose protective pad which can be used either as a coaster, trivet, or place mat. The usual forms of coasters, trivets or place mats are so made that the substitution of one for the other would be obviously inappropriate. In addition, where an absorbent filler is used, as for example in a coaster, the filler is form-fitted to the specific shape of the coaster holder and there `is little if any provision for using a range of filler sizes.

The present invention proposes to provide an improved support which can be made in a variety of sizes to fulfill a number of functions, such as serving as trivet, a placement mat, a coaster, or other home furnishing protective suppor-t.

It is therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose protective pad for furniture or the like having provision for the retention of a removable moisture absorbing filler, whereby the placement of a wet glass or hot plate on said pad will not injure, mar or o-therwise adversely affect the supporting furniture surface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved coaster comprising a moisture resistant outer lining material and a moisture absorben-t inner lining material removably retained by the outer lining material, wherein said coaster is adapted to conform substantially to Ithe supporting surface upon which it is placed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a combination coaster and trivet comprising an absorbent insulating material removably carried in a moisture protective sheath.

Other objects, fixtures and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the `accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the absorbable support of the invention as a coaster;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a modification, wherein the support is -of circular configuration; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG, 3 to show details of construction.

In accordance with the invention, i-t has been found that highly suitable supporting pads for supporting drinking glasses, hot plates, and a variety of other articles can be made from a water-proof holder, united in the form of a exible receptacle with an absorbent pad removably and insulatingly disposed in said flexible receptacle.

In FIG. 1 is illustrated a protective support or pad 10, which embodies the features of the present invention in the form of a coaster. For convenience the invention will -be described in terms of a coaster for supporting a drink- .ing glass, such .as 12, shown in dotted outline. However, it is to be understood that it is not intended to be restricted thereby, since the invention is susceptible of other uses, such as a trivet knee pad or a place mat.

The coaster preferably comprises a generally rectangular base or bottom 14 of flexible water-proof material, such as a polyethylene sheet material, and an enclosed flexible rectangular band, 16, in the form of a Patented July 20, 1965 ICC frame or border, of polyethylene sheet or the like, superimposed on said base sheet 14 with its outer edges in substantial registry with the outer edges of the base sheet. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the band 16 is disposed in assembly with Ithe base 14 by a suitable means of securement, such `as stitching or heat sealing means along the dotted line 1S. The manner in which the band 16 is secured to the base 14 is preferably by means of a continuous line of heat sealing, but other methods of attachment may be used such as spot or skip stitching or heat sealing, or plural rows of stitching or heat sealing, or any suitable combination thereof.

According to the present invention, the coaster is constructed to positively retain a filler of absorbent material, such as a paper napkin or fel-t, or an insulating material such as a cotton pad or the like, and to provide improved means for retainably receiving a wide variety of such fillers of varying dimensions and thicknesses. For this purpose provision is made so that in securing the band 16 to the base sheet 14, there is a sufficient inner margin or lip 20 for the insertion thereunder of the edges of a suitable insert or filler 22, preferably made of an absorbent fabric. These lips 20 are exible and appear, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in overlapping and comformable relation with the outer margin of the liller 22. As a result of this construction, each ofthe lips 20 constituting the inner margin of the band 16 resiliently or flexibly retains its associated filler 22 into engagement with the base 14. In essence, the combination of the base 14 and the band 16 appear as a collapse-d or flattened plastic, waterproof receptacle or protective sheath which can be manipulated or expanded within the limits of flexibility to removably retain the filler 22 and permit a major portion of the filler to be exposed for engagement with a moist drinking vessel. Suitably the filler is encased in an absorbent or porous material 21 such as a textile fabric.

Facility in assembling the plastic receptacle and ller therefor is afforded by out-turning the lips 20, one at a time, and inserting the outer margin of the filler thereunder. By providing a relatively wide lip 20 there can be a wider variety in the `dimensions of the filler as well as the thickness thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the edges of the base 14 and band 16 are straight edged, and that the outer edges of the band 16 do not project beyond the edges of the base 14. It should be understood, however, the edges need not be in alignment with one another and that any type of edging may be employed lto enhance the appearance of the coaster.

In FIG. 2, the means for securing the receptacle band 16 to the receptacle base 14 is illustrated as stitching 18a'. In FIG. 4, the securement of the receptacle parts is illustrated as heat sealing 18h.

In the modification shown in FIG. 3, Ithe empty plastic receptacle of the invention is sho-wn in circular form which comprises a circula-r base 24 and an annular band 26 heat sealed thereto at 18h. The edges of the plastic receptacle may be perforated or cut in any desired ornamental pattern, a saw-toothed pattern 28 such as that made by pinking shears being shown and illustrated herein. It will be appreciated Athat in this modification, the filler (not shown) will be of generally circular shape to be removably retained under the retention flap of the band 26.

Upon the placement of a wet glass on the upwardly facing exposed surface of the filler 22, the moisture will be absorbed by the filler, and will not drip or adhere to a furniture surface because of the surrounding protective sheath. After usage, the filler 22 may be readily removed by lifting the retaining flap 2t) and gently separating the liller from its protective sheath. The filler, if made of washable material, such as cotton, may be washed, dried, and reused as many times as desired.

- Y f Y i 3,195,847

yIt will be appreciated that various flo-rms of the absorbable support may -be similarly made, other than the rectanguiar and circula-r forms illustrated herein. Thus, the absorbable support may be of any polygonal shape and may haveV any suitable edgework'the'reon. InY addition, although the protective sheath shown herein comprises a base sheet and' a retaining ap, ther protective sheath is readily adapted to be made from one piece by suitable re- Y protect a supporting'surface.

verse folding of the margins of the base sheet to form Y Animportant advantage of the present inventionresides` useful in a number of applications where it is desired to The protective sheath and the absorbent insert complement and coact with one another to produce a Wide variety of desired effects. Y

It will be understood that variations land modifications may be ,effected Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.v What is claimed is:

An absorbable coaster comprising a waterproof base sheet, a tiexibleband united to saidbase sheet ink superimposedfreiation to form a plurality of plies` therewith and adjacent to the peripheralborder thereof, means for in the. removable feature Vofabsorbent filler 22ma'king itV `V possible to replace a ller wheny necessary, orif conven `ientrto remove "a filler for cleaning and reuse it as many Vtimes as desired.V Y p The vnew ,absorbable 'supportv provides Va convenient means for using attractive absorbentl inserts, in whichV the securing said superimposed band to said base sheet to form Yan inner .exible retaining flap Von said band, and an insert beauty of the insert is at all ti-mesmexposed to View. By.:

vhaving its outer margin disposed under the distended flap 2,809,466. y10/57V Grover. n, g 2,856,727 ro/ss Tolbert. 2,954,635Y 10/60V stotrr 15o-52 FRANKB; SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

